Counter strategy:

Maze's face twisted in rage as he saw Rigel disappearing from his sight. However, he couldn't chase after Rigel after witnessing his retaliation. Maze wasn't stupid, he understood from Rigel's attack that he wasn't dealing with some ordinary kid, rather he was dealing with a snake.

A poisonous snake, small or large should always be dealt with a long stick. Size didn't matter when it came to snakes. A bite from any one of them can squeeze the life out of you within minutes.

Maze watched in mute horror as the man stabbed by Rigel passed away within minutes. How can a mere second level Qi condensation expert survive the black fog?

That day when Rigel found the black fog and understood its origin, he realized very soon that the black fog had properties very similar to the poison, Jade snake venom used by the red-robed guard, Daiz.

The Jade Snake venom is a very potent poison which can kill most of the early Spark formation stage cultivators. Even though, the black fog didn't retain the full power of the jade snake venom. It still retained about half of its power.

Rigel experimented with the black fog and understood several things regarding its nature. Although the black fog was in his control, the degree of control he had over the fog matched his control over his Qi.

Also, even though the black fog was a separate entity, it was present within his Qi channels and had reserves less than his Qi. Thus, even though the black fog may sound almost like a godly weapon, Rigel had to use it conservatively.

Rigel thought about the poisonous nature of the black fog and tried to find the origin of its powers. However, he soon came to a conclusion that the black fog which was present within his Qi channels should have in some way absorbed the Jade snake venom in his body and evolved into something similar.

Rigel was a bit hesitant, but the idea of having a weapon which can evolve and absorb various poisons was too tempting for him. So he finally took out his poisons and tried to make the black fog consume them.

Unfortunately, Rigel found that the black fog couldn't absorb any more poisons. It was rejecting all the poisons in his arsenal. From this, Rigel came to two conclusions.

One, the black fog could evolve only once. Two, it was rejecting his poisons because none of his poisons are more potent than the Jade snake venom.

Even though Rigel wasn't sure of his analysis, he thought that the reason why the black fog couldn't evolve was that of the latter.

Although Frank was a genius, even he couldn't teach Rigel about advanced alchemy because not only do you need rare ingredients but should also possess Qi to meld them in the fire of the hearth.

Rigel couldn't cultivate, and thus Frank never spoke of poisons which needed to be blended with Qi. The Jade snake venom was one such poison. It was far above anything Rigel ever made in his life and thus was much more potent than all his poisons.

Poisoned by the black fog, the man had no chance to survive at all unless someone of Elder class power interfered immediately.

The black fog possessed by Rigel wasn't enough to kill early Spark formation stage experts, but it could certainly kill anyone below the fifth level of Qi condensation with some exceptions.

Rigel ran into the clearing at high speed and saw the corpse of Pi lying on the floor. He smiled lightly and walked towards the body.

Turning his head, he saw behind his back. After confirming that no one was following him, Rigel checked Pi's bag of holding and found a total of over three hundred spirit crystals.

A first level Qi condensation stage cultivator was given ten spirit crystals month by the sect to help in his training. A second level expert got twenty while a third level expert received fifty and a fourth level expert received a hundred spirit crystals.

Pi was only in the second level of Qi condensation and should receive only about twenty spirit crystals every month, but he had over three hundred in his bag of holding. Rigel couldn't help but smile as he counted them.

Next, he found two large books which were the unabridged versions of the books he received when he joined the sect. Rigel face lit up as he saw the books. The spirit crystals will be immensely helpful to him in his training but being an alchemist; Rigel thought that perhaps his best gain was the books.

Next, he found a small chipped sword which emitted a fierce aura. Even though the sword was chipped and was almost unusable, Rigel could immediately tell that it was flying sword used by Immortal practitioners.

Rigel smiled as he found a bunch of other things which will at some point be useful to him. He kept them all back in Pi's bag of holding and stored it safely among his robes.

He then turned around and watched the silent forest. He snorted coldly and muttered in a small voice, "Let's see, how will you deal with me Maze?"

Rigel didn't stay in the clearing any longer and ran back to the sect. A few minutes after Rigel left the clearing, Maze, and his two accomplices, Kane and Hazard reached the spot searching for Rigel.

As soon as they saw Pi lying lifelessly on the ground, an intense rage exploded in their mind. In a single day, they lost two of their friends. That fact made them puke at their inability.

Hazard walked forward and touched Pi to check for his pulse but shook his head as he felt nothing. Maze watched the surrounding mountains and the trees. He had to be cautious.

Hazard spat on the floor and said in an angry voice, "Maze, we have to kill this bastard at any cost. He even killed Pi. How can he be so strong? He isn't even in Qi condensation stage."

Kane shook his head and said in a calm voice, "No, Pi was killed by Angelo. Rigel didn't have the time to kill Pi before we reached him and besides, there are no wounds on his body.

As far as I saw, this Rigel uses knives and poison to deal with his opponents. Besides, no matter how strong he is, he shouldn't have the physical prowess to tie down a second level Qi condensation expert and strangle him to death."

Maze sighed loudly and said in a low voice, "Forget about Pi and Angelo. I will take of Angelo later. For now, we have a much bigger issue to worry about.

That bastard Rigel has gone back to the sect, and unless he is a fool, he should have filed a complaint against us."

Hazard sneered coldly and said, "What if he files a complaint boss? We will show him the rules of the game very soon. Humph! How many days will the complaint protect him? Three days, a week?

Sooner or later, I am going to torture the life out of that bastard."

Kane nodded his head slightly and asked in a serious voice, "So what do you think he will complain about? It would be tricky if he complained that we killed Angelo and his sister?"

Maze snorted coldly and said, "There are no dead bodies here, and their footprints are clearly showing that both of them escaped. If he really does files something so stupid, then it will only make our work easier."

Soon Maze, Kane, and Hazard returned to the sect while chatting all the way. Since they had no way to catch up to Rigel, they decided to leave him alone and let him file a complaint.

What would any claim lodged by a junior member of the outer sect do? At most, it will garner the attention of a guard. If necessary, Maze could even ask for the inner disciples to intervene. No guard will dare to object to his words.

As Maze and others reached the gates, Hedge was standing for them. His expression was serious as he saw Maze and others. With a cold snort, he strode forward.

Maze looked at Hedge and greeted in a cheerful voice, "Uncle Hedge, how was your day?"

Hedge's face twisted as he roared in an angry voice, "Shut your fucking mouth Maze. You should be thankful if you escape today with your life. How dare you kill your friend? I always thought that you were just a bit rowdy but today, I understood your true nature. You are a villain."

Maze smiled lightly and said, "So, the kid complained to you. Uncle Hedge, you should know about my relations. I hope you will let this matter pass silently, and I promise there will be no recuperations."

Hedge face turned cold as he said in a serious voice, "Humph! You think I am the one who asked for you Maze. The one who has come to question you is Elder Feng.

Now, tell me, do you know people who can influence even an elder?"

"WHAT?" Maze involuntarily screamed as he heard the word, Elder.

An Elder was a position above that of a core disciple, and his authority was second only to the Patriarchs of the sect. Such a person can never be influenced unless another elder asks for a favor.

"How... Why? Impossible. How can the kid know an elder?" Maze stuttered while Kane's and Hazard's face drained of all blood. At that moment, all three of them thought that they had unconsciously provoked a wolf in a sheep's clothing.

Silent footsteps rang out as Elder Feng slowly walked towards Maze and his group. His eyes were cold as he looked at Maze. Beside him, Rigel was walking with a fear filled face.

Maze almost puked as he saw Rigel's acting. He saw Rigel's true nature and his ruthlessness and yet, here in front of an elder, he was acting so docile and fearful.

Elder Feng glanced at Maze and said in a loud voice, "Maze, your fellow disciple Rigel has come to me claiming that you have killed your friend, Pi for his treasures.

He also claims that you have tried to kill him as he accidentally saw you murdering Pi."

Maze face was drained of all color as he heard Elder Feng's voice. He never expected that Rigel will claim that he killed Pi.

Feng glanced at Maze and asked in a cold voice, "According to Rigel, four of you ganged up on Pi and killed him, but I only see three of you here. Where is the fourth person?"

The minute Elder Feng asked that question; Kane felt weak in his knees, and Hazard fell on his butt while Maze's eyes became blank. From the corner of his vision, he saw Rigel with a little smile on his face.

*****

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